Of Mice And Men Isolation Essay

Historically, humans are social creatures. We have evolved to thrive in social situations, and the statement ‘safety in numbers’ holds true after many years of evolution. Despite no longer needing protection from predators or more bodies to help search for food, our brains have developed to experience a sense of ‘reward’ during interactions with other humans, and it has been shown that being isolated, either physically or socially, is connected with an increased risk of ill health (Cohen). Isolation, or ‘solitary confinement,’ is used as a punishment method in many countries, including the United States and Great Britain, and the psychological and physical effects of confinement take a large toll on our health – any social experiments on social isolation are usually cut short, with subjects often reporting hallucinations and extreme anxiety. Aside from the negative biological and psychological effects, we find
For the characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’, social interactions were often brief and insignificant. Despite working on ranches in groups, having deep, meaningful connections with others was rare, as shown by the other characters being skeptical of the relationship between George and Lennie, such as the moment Curley meets them both, and states, “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.” (Steinbeck, 22). Lennie is seemingly developmentally delayed, and he depends on George to care for him and protect him, such as feeding him or getting him out of difficult circumstances they find themselves in, for example the situation in Weed. Although Lennie doesn’t initially appear to offer any